Creator of the Iconic Red Solo Cup Dies

The creator of the Red Solo Cup has died. Robert Leo Hulseman, 84, of Northfield, Ill., was surrounded by family when he died on Dec. 21.

Hulseman, 84, is being remembered as an innovator, a philanthropist and a gentleman. He started working at the Solo Cup factory when he was 18. His father started the business in in 1936.

He worked his way up to CEO of the company, succeeding his father in 1980 and helping the company grow into one of the largest food service packaging companies in the world.

In the beginning, the Illinois-based company made the kind of cone-shaped paper cups you find next to the office water cooler. Then, in the 1950s, as fountain sodas gained popularity, it added wax-lined cups to its lineup.

It was sometime in the 1970s that Hulseman came up with the now-ubiquitous cups that are such a party staple.